Hello Vim users,

Announcing:  Vim (Vi IMproved) version 7.2a BETA

This is a BETA release of Vim 7.2.  It consists of Vim 7.1 plus all
patches, updated runtime files and some more.

I expect this to be reasonable stable, since most of the patches have
been used by many people already.  However, I did include several
patches the last few days, this might break something.

Please report every problem you find!  The time until a 7.2 release
depends on how many problems are reported.

The biggest addition is floating support.  Once you have installed Vim
7.2a BETA you can find details about the changes since Vim 7.1 with
":help version-7.2".

Testing
-------

This is a BETA test version.  Please give it a good test and report
anything that isn't right.  That includes a crash but also a typo in the
documentation.

I will not make an Amiga or OS/2 binary for Vim 7.2a.  A Mac version is
hopefully available soon on http://macvim.org/  and/or from the MacVim
project at http://code.google.com/p/macvim/

Gratitude
---------

If you like Vim, this is the way to say thanks:
http://iccf-holland.org/clinic.html

Where to get it
---------------

All files can be found below this directory:
        ftp://ftp.vim.org/pub/vim/unstable/

Information about which files to download for what system (don't use the
links, they are still for Vim 7.1):
        http://www.vim.org/download.php

A list of mirror sites can be found here:
        http://www.vim.org/mirrors.php

Vim 7.2a is also available from CVS (as soon as it finishes uploading).
Subversion will follow later.
        http://www.vim.org/cvs.php
        http://www.vim.org/subversion.php
Aap is still at 7.1.

An overview of the files below "unstable":

UNIX:
unix/vim-7.2a.tar.bz2           sources + runtime files, bzip2 compressed

MS-WINDOWS one-size-fits-all:
pc/gvim72a.exe                  self-installing, includes all runtime files

VARIOUS:
extra/vim-7.2a-extra.tar.gz     source files for non-Unix platforms
extra/vim-7.2a-lang.tar.gz      multi-language files
doc/vim72ahtml.zip              help files converted to HTML

MS-WINDOWS separate files:
pc/vim72art.zip                 runtime files
pc/vim72alang.zip               files for translated messages and menus
pc/gvim72a.zip                  GUI binary for Windows 95/98/NT/2000/XP
pc/gvim72aole.zip               GUI binary with OLE support
pc/gvim72a_s.zip                GUI binary for Windows 3.1 (untested)
pc/vim72ad32.zip                console version for MS-DOS/Windows 95/98
pc/vim72aw32.zip                console version for Windows NT/2000/XP
pc/vim72asrc.zip                sources for PC (with CR-LF)

DIFFS TO PREVIOUS RELEASE:
unix/vim-7.1-7.2a.diff.gz          sources + runtime files
extra/vim-7.1-7.2a-extra.diff.gz   extra files
extra/vim-7.1-7.2a-lang.diff.gz    multi-language files

There is no 16-bit DOS version, I could not build it.

Mailing lists
-------------

For user questions you can turn to the Vim mailing list.  There are a
lot of tips, scripts and solutions.  You can ask your Vim questions, but
only if you subscribe.  See http://www.vim.org/maillist.php#vim

If you want to help Vim development, discuss new features or get the
latest patches, subscribe to the vim-dev mailing list.  See
http://www.vim.org/maillist.php#vim-dev

Subject specific lists:
Multi-byte issues: http://www.vim.org/maillist.php#vim-multibyte
Macintosh issues:  http://www.vim.org/maillist.php#vim-mac

Before you ask a question you should search the archives, someone may
already have given the answer.

Reporting bugs
--------------

Send them to <b...@vim.org>.  Please describe the problem precisely.
All the time spent on answering mail is subtracted from the time that is
spent on improving Vim!  Always give a reproducible example and try to
find out which settings or other things influence the appearance of the
bug.  Try starting without your own vimrc file: "vim -u NONE".  Try
different machines if possible.  See ":help bugs" in Vim.  Send me a
patch if you can!

If something needs discussing with other developers, send a message to the
vim-dev mailing list.  You need to subscribe first.

Happy Vimming!

--
From "know your smileys":
 :~)    A man with a tape recorder up his nose